NZI Signs Up To Supplynet E-Procurement Solution

Technology services company SupplyNet has signed a Letter of
Intent with New Zealand Insurance to begin a nationwide
rollout of its Enterprise Buyer Desktop (EBD) e-procurement
tool developed by Commerce One and
SAPMarkets.

The deal follows a successful
three-month pilot in which NZI’s objectives were:
- Create efficiencies by reducing the time,
money and paperwork associated with ordering goods and
services by fax or phone Rationalisation of
suppliers Monitoring purchasing
expenditure Automation of the authorisation
process for purchasing.

NZI, which is New Zealand’s
largest business insurer, operates over some 24 sites with
around 700 employees. While the pilot was limited to three
suppliers, the national version will incorporate a broader
supplier base.

“I would
recommend SupplyNet and their technology to an organisation
where there is a focus towards automating activities and
practices that are traditionally manual and
time-consuming.”

SupplyNet Sales Manager, Gerry Hughes,
says longer term NZI is looking at integrating the EBD
e-procurement solution with its financial systems to reduce
the manual processes of invoice matching and
payment.

“Looking forward, there is also opportunity to
explore how SupplyNet technology can be applied in other
areas of NZI’s business.”

The NZI deal comes hard on the
heels of its launch of EBDXpress in September. EBDXpress, a
templated, ‘rapid start’ version of EBD, is primarily
designed for companies wanting to buy regularly purchased,
high volume goods and services on-line. The solution, which
channels most employee purchasing to an easy-to-use
browser-based system, is ideal for a company which has
implemented a strategic procurement framework and wants to
lock in the purchasing policies and procedures.

Companies
have the choice of two EBDXpress levels as well as a
customisation option. Level one is designed to accommodate
10 users in one buying centre, dealing with up to five
suppliers. It is designed for smaller operations with one
purchasing department responsible for buying the company’s
supplies. The second can accommodate three buying centres,
20 users and 10 suppliers. It is designed for larger
companies with purchasing needs spread over several
departments.

“Providing two entry levels and
customisation options means that this solution is completely
scalable to suit the user company’s size. Electronic
procurement tools now make sense in New Zealand for smaller
companies, rather than only being the domain of large
corporations,” says SupplyNet Chief Operating Officer, Carl
Mitchell-Turner.

“As a hosted application, EBDXpress is
not only cost-effective for adopters, but is also
obsolescence-proof with regular software upgrades keeping
the technology current.”

EBDXpress has been designed to
make purchasing simple. Buying users sign on once for
access to search supplier catalogues, place orders and
receive confirmation of the transaction and of delivery
arrangements. Effectively, all purchasing from a range of
suppliers can be done in one session with the on-line screen
showing transactions in one “basket”. The system can be
customised to accommodate in-house purchasing rules, such as
spending limits on departments, or individuals and can also
accommodate in-house authorisation procedures.

Mr
Mitchell-Turner says that in the past suppliers have been
reluctant to take part in e-procurement so in developing
this product SupplyNet has concentrated on adding value at
both ends of the transaction.

“Solutions that we’ve
developed for suppliers include free directory listings,
catalogue and content management and the opportunity to
upscale to a trading website totally integrated into an
electronic marketplace. When we talk to suppliers, they can
see tangible benefits.”

In response to the challenges facing Scoop and the media industry we’ve instituted an Ethical Paywall to keep the news freely available to the public.
People who use Scoop for work need to be licensed through a ScoopPro subscription under this model, they also get access to exclusive news tools.

Annual temperatures were above average (+0.51°C to +1.20°C above the annual average) across the majority of New Zealand... 2018 was the equal 2nd-warmest year on record for New Zealand, based on NIWA’s seven-station series which began in 1909. More>>

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3 percent in the September 2018 quarter, down from 1.0 percent in the previous quarter, Stats NZ said today... GDP per capita was flat in the September 2018 quarter, following an increase of 0.5 percent in the June 2018 quarter. More>>

Coalition Government signals how it will move toward its goal of a $20 p/h minimum wage by 2021... “Today we are announcing that the minimum wage will increase to $17.70 an hour on 1 April 2019." More>>